Retaliation
by LoveStoryMermaid
Summary: What if the girls stayed together and worked to go after Dante in revenge for Caryn? My idea of I how Poison Ink would have turned out. Brief plot summary of Poison Ink included.
1. Caryn

AN: For those who haven't read the book, a brief description of Poison Ink, written by Christopher Golden, spoilers of book: five best friends in their junior year of high school decide to get a tattoo to remind them of their friendship but the tattoo starts to change them, control them, except Sammi, who backed out. Dante was the guy who gave them their tattoo, in the form of a circle with five waves coming from it. In the end they are in Sammi's cousin's girlfriend's tattoo shop and Dante has control over the girls except Sammi who get in a fight trying to kill the others. Caryn, one of the girls, does die by the hand of Letty, another of the girls, but under Dante's control. Sammi's parents get a divorce and the friends that remain eventually fall apart. Basically, I really really did not like the ending of the book and this is how I imagined the ending. In my opinion, it wasn't my favorite book, not one I'd necessarily reccomend, but well written, and an excellent deterent for anyone thinking about getting a tattoo.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Poison Ink or any of its characters. **

**Retaliation**

It was not one of those days where the sun seemed to mock the dead, or where good weather seemed to be a sign from the beloved deceased that the one who had died, our kind friend and talented artist Caryn, was okay. No, this day had a sinister, ominous, and gloomy feel to it, like everything certainly was _not _alright, like this was a day for endings. We all watched, Katsuko, T.Q., and myself holding each other in hand tightly, Caryn's mother and father embraced, attempting to give comfort to the other where comfort could not be found, and many in tears, some silent, some not. As we watched the casket containing our friend's, Caryn's, body descend into the Earth, Katsuko, T.Q., and myself knew the truth of what had happened, what each of us had done, and what had been left unfinished and that still must be done-Dante. The prospect of facing him again was terrifying, almost suicidal, but for our sake and Caryn's and the safety of all underage kids we had to find him, and stop him for good. Obviously, that could not be done immediately, and it could not be done alone. We would have to have the support of the police and Letty and all of our wounds, physically and emotionally would have to be healed, perhaps on the emotional side, just shy of healed. As we watched Caryn descend into the earth, I made a pact this would be done. Dante would not get away with this. At the moment, Letty blamed herself for Caryn's death, but she will have to see, we will help her, that there was nothing she could have done. She was completely under Dante's control, Dante had killed Caryn, almost killed all of us, and Letty was the victim, not the murderer. The best we could do now for Caryn was stick together and finish what we started, what always will be. Our tattoos had indeed bonded us together, but never in the way they were intended, now they would be a dark reminder of our decision that night and its catastrophic consequences, but that what always will be, because for as much as Dante was twisted and as much as he had gotten wrong, his original thought was right: we were five strong friends, always was, always will be, this would not tear us apart, a storm was beautiful and powerful and unstoppable in its own way. No, this would bind us together stronger than ever, as something we would overcome and accept.

The casket was in the earth and the ground was being filled in. Our goodbyes and respects to Caryn had been said, now it was time to heal, and then to finish what never should have been started. Katsuko and T.Q. and I looked up at each other, tears in our eyes but with a grim determination in the set of our mouths and minds. Tightly and determined, we promised to call by the morning. We knew things were going to be tense and hard for a time at home, and perhaps with each other, each for our own reasons, but we would pull through, we knew that now. I still had my parents' divorce to face and Adam's text to decide on. Adam would have to wait, I was still mad at him for not trusting and listening to me, and there were more important things right now than a cute boy. When things settled, though, I would call him and we would see if we, too, could get back to how things were, or at least close to how they were, because no doubt, everything was different now, every second of our lives would impact us, it always had, it was just now we realized it.

It was a quiet ride home. My mother, I believed, knew I needed to be left to myself for now, and I knew she was there to talk when, if, I was ready, but I already missed my father. He had left the funeral in a different car and I wasn't sure when I would see him again. He had failed me, and as far as I was concerned, my mother as well. I had always counted on him, on them, but now I could only count on my friends and myself, these were the only things that were certain, but time certainly was not. I kissed my mother when we got home, but headed quietly to my room where I sat on my bed and then immediately, gently, keeping my broken bones in mind, fell to the back of my bed and shut my eyes to think, to gain some safe spot of, what?, not peace, but, of quiet, yes, quiet, where I could be left to my thoughts.

For a little while I had it, that numb quietness I desired, eventually I started thinking back on everything before that cursed tattoo, the happier times, when I could believe in my parents, when I saw hope in a boy who I could call Cute Adam, when the five of us were tight as ever and nothing would ever change that. How naïve we had been to believe that, that everything would always be perfect and safe and okay. I took a few minutes thinking about Caryn, all her designs and the times all of us had spent with her. It wasn't as sad as it could have been, it gave me some acceptance, but eventually, I couldn't avoid thinking of what had happened, that had cost us a friend, a life, an artist, but almost our friendship as well. I found myself seeing Dante's cold, glassy, light blue, engaged, dangerous eyes, and then Rachael's tattoo shop and all the blood and screams and Caryn. I shut my eyes tighter and took a deep breath. I should stop here, but I couldn't quite. I thought of Letty, who had been so wild under Dante's cursed spell, and how bright Caryn's eyes had been, before, and even then, but with fear there, then nothing at all, glassy, rolling back into her head, and Letty, oh Letty. Tears were starting to roll down my face, chilling on my neck and rolling onto my bed. I stopped there. I didn't blame Letty in the least for Caryn's death; it wasn't her fault and not her choice at all. Under her own power, she never would have even had the thought. Under her own power…at least Caryn had died free, free of the curse from Dante and the tattoo. She would have wanted that, no matter how terrible, I could be almost certain she had wanted to know, to realize the truth, instead of dying believing it was her own fault. At least she knew. I had to stop. The five of us were individuals, one would never come back, but she would always be with us, and that made us strong, five always working together, in our own way, no matter what. I opened my eyes and looked at my clock. It glared 7:45 PM in red, back to me, cold, unforgiving, the color of blood. Enough. Enough. I couldn't stay here by myself tonight, with things left like this, with Zak and Letty in the hospital, and apologies to Zak and Rachael to be made. I jumped out of bed, left my hair how it was, messy, frizzed, and down. I didn't care, it fit my mood. My mother was quiet on the sofa, she looked up and I gave her a glance back, but she didn't ask questions when I walked out the door. Maybe she was wallowing in guilt about my father; I hoped so, but not my problem.

* * *

AN: Thanks to everyone who is reading at least this far! I know the story is long and somewhat, if not very, depressing at the moment, but I promise it gets better, more hopeful near the end. It's kind of like the old cliche: It has to get worse before it can get better. Well the girls are so impacted by what happened they have to deal with it and face it, but slowly and it easn't easy. What they've experienced is super and unnatural and they made a terrible mistake that cost them the life of a friend and the saftey of two others and their peace of mind. That's not easy to overcome and it takes time, so just stick with it, skip several chapters if you want, but I'd love it if you gave it a chance to get better. I promise it does eventually look up and ends on a hopeful note. That's why I wrote this, not to be depressing, the book did an excellent job of that, but to have things turn out okay, and with time, they do.


	2. Rachael

_I jumped out of bed, left my hair how it was, messy, frizzed, and down. I didn't care, it fit my mood. My mother was quiet on the sofa, she looked up and I gave her a glance back, but she didn't ask questions when I walked out the door. Maybe she was wallowing in guilt about my father; I hoped so, but not my problem._

It was chilly out, when I shut the door I saw the wind blow five leaves around in a circle, just five, like us. I hurried past and noticed the dim light and looked up. It was a clear night, a crescent moon, and some stars out. I'd never been into astronomy or spirits much, but I looked up now, and I hoped, I thought of Caryn, and I did believe she was up there somewhere, safe, no worries, and watching us now. It really did give me some hope that maybe things were going to be alright. I kept walking to the hospital. I knew the rooms my friends were in and the nurses knew about us, so I just nodded to them, who nodded back, though with wary, uncertain faces. They knew we were good kids, but they couldn't quite understand the story we'd given them. I gave a wry smile and snort; they wouldn't believe or want to know the reality of everything. I hung my head and walked to Zak's room. I needed to see him first. I didn't know what would be said, but I had to at least see him, apologize, even if he and Rachael never forgive me for this. Zak was injured because of me, but he hadn't asked questions, just like Rachael, who was facing interrogation by the police, again because of me, and she, too, had not asked questions. I owed them the safety of the friends I still had, and mine, but had completely endangered them almost without a thought. I looked up. I was two rooms away. I paused for a few seconds, and shut my eyes and took a deep breath, and then walked to his room. I paused in the doorway with, I could tell, a terrible face of sorrow and guilt and apology. Rachael was there, Zak was asleep. I wanted to turn around and run, but I had to at least apologize, say the words, even if they didn't accept or listen. I saw Rachael look up at me away from Zak and saw her face tighten, but then it relaxed into a face of acceptance, dare I believe forgiveness, but not intimidating, inviting me to say what I needed. I gave a small nod and walked five deliberate steps into the room. I didn't sit down.

"Rachael," I whispered, tightly, "I'm so sorry. That doesn't begin to cover it or make it okay, but thank you, and I'm, I'm sorry," I cried. "I…should have never…," I looked at Zak, "this is my fault. I asked for your help without giving you the slightest explanation, and you agreed, and look what happened because of it. I can't… words can't cover the apology I owe you and even then, it's not enough, I know, but I am incredibly thankful for what you did for me, for my friends, and so incredibly sorry for the consequences of it. I'm so sorry." I hung my head, tears in my eyes, and was ready to turn to leave. I looked at her, and her face was pained, but quiet. I turned to leave.

"Sammi," she said, quietly, pained. I stopped but didn't turn around.

"Sammi," she said again, quietly, gently, "come here".

I turned around and looked up. She was waiting, her hand patting the floor. I owed it to her, to do whatever she asked of me, I would do everything and anything she ever asked of me. I could never repay the trouble and pain I'd caused her. I walked over.

"Rachael, if, if there is ever, anything you need, that you would trust with me, just ask and I'll do it. It's the least I can do."

She smiled gently and started fingering through my hair, like my mother used to, starting to braid it. I let her. We were both quiet. When she was finished she took a rubber band and let it snap into my hair, then turned me to face her.

"Samantha, I don't regret it. If I hadn't, what would have become of you, of your friends? He would have still had control over them. You needed help, and you were trapped. Should you have given me more information? Yes. Would I have believed you? Maybe if I you saw your face, heard the terror in your voice, but just on its own, I can't be certain that I would have. Then what would I have done, when I realized everything you said was true, and maybe I could have helped? Zak will be fine; my shop can be rebuilt, if I have problems with the police, okay. If you want to help, you can work rebuilding the shop. I should ask, if you forgive me, for taking your tattoo that far. It seemed like you wanted me to, reluctantly, of course, but you told me how to stall, I didn't. I think I should have. I guess we all have things we should have done and apologies to make, but we did what we could think of when we did. We didn't have time to think, but it will be okay. I forgive you, if you forgive me as well."

I looked at her, shocked, that she saw it that way, and that she could forgive me just like that. "Of course, of course I forgive you. Don't blame yourself about the tattoo, they would have just, I don't even know, but you didn't have the choice to stall, and you didn't finish it, and I will absolutely help you with the shop, I owe that much, at least, to you."

"Then let's leave it at that. Thank you. We can't focus on should have's. It's in the past and we did what we did. Now, let us just work on fixing the things that need to be fixed." I nodded.

"Are _you_ okay, Sammi?"

"I've been better, but we won't let it go, but it won't destroy us either."

"Be careful," was her only reply.

"Anybody care about me?" came the question from the bed. Rachael rolled her eyes and smiled, shaking her head. Zak had opened his eyes and sat up slowly. Why did I get the feeling he hadn't really been sleeping. I opened my mouth to apologize to him, but he didn't give me the chance.

"Of course, Rachael forgives you, and so do I, so don't worry about it, before you even start. Rachael is absolutely right. Sure, some more information would have been nice, but we might not have believed you, and then it_ would_ be our fault for anything that would have happened to you. I'll be fine, but you're my little cousin, and if you're in trouble, I always say you can come to me. That's what you did. And I'll help you with that psychopath too because no way am I allowing you to face him alone on your own, I don't care what he could do, or about any rationalizations about how it probably won't make much difference, despite age or whatever, because I don't care. The guy doesn't belong in the public and he hurt all of us and killed your friend, almost killed us. He is a murderer, among many other things, and before you ask, if you're still not sure, I forgive you and it's not your fault and I won't hear anything of it being so. If I remember, you were the one who was sane in the first place and backed out."

"Well," he raised an eyebrow, daring me to say sorry, because, obviously he didn't want one, but I had to, "Fine, but sorry, and ok, thank you," I said quickly. Zak laughed.

"I'll be out of here in no time. Don't worry about us. We'll take care of the authorities, you guys just take care of yourselves, hear?"

I nodded. "Good," he said.

"Thank you, though, Sammi" Rachael, said, from the chair.

"Of course, thank _you_." Rachael opened her arms, inviting. I took the invitation and we embraced.

"Hey, over here," Zak called, his arms open, too. I was cautious, because of his side, but agreed, carefully, gently hugging him high. He patted my back and I pulled up, smiling thankfully.

I sat with them for a little bit till a nurse came to check on Zak, then I mentioned I should go, thanking them again, and they nodded. That was enough for tonight.


	3. Not Your Fault

_I sat with them for a little bit till a nurse came to check on Zak, then I mentioned I should go, thanking them again, and they nodded. That was enough for tonight._

I was at the hospital already; I figured I might as well go see Letty too. Letty's biggest problem was she blamed herself for Caryn's death. We had to, we would, make her see the truth and help her come to terms, let her know for certain we didn't hold her responsible for Caryn's death. Letty's room was ten down from Zak's. When I got to her room, three faces looked up at me; T.Q. and Katsuko were already there too.

"Hey, I was just going to call you, see if you wanted to come down yet. I know we said we would, but I think we all were thinking about keeping the night to ourselves for a bit. I couldn't - had too much on my mind," T.Q. said.

"Me, too," Katsuko admitted.

"Yeah, same here; I was just talking to Zak and Rachael," I answered. Their faces twisted.

"Oh my god," T.Q., said quietly, "I didn't even think about them. How could I have forgotten them, dammit! We owe them so much. What did they say?! I should go talk to them now."

"I'll come with you," Katsuko said.

I held them back, "Hey, guys, it's okay for now. They forgave me, and I'm pretty sure the feeling is all around to all of us. A nurse was seeing to Zak when I left and it looked like Rachael wanted to just be alone with Zak for a bit. We can go see them in the morning."

"Oh, okay," Katsuko said, but not unfeeling. T.Q. looked unhappy about waiting, but nodded and sat back down, facing Letty, who was sitting up in her bed against the back.

"I guess you're here to tell me it's not my fault, too?" Letty sighed.

I gave a small, wry, guilty smile, "Yeah, but also just to be here." The others nodded.

"I know, I've already heard it from them, but I just can't get over that I held the knife, even if it wasn't my idea or control. Even though I feel horrible, yet I know I wasn't in control of myself. I just can't help wondering if I could have held back for just a second, a second long enough for one of you to divert my hands or me to toss the knife for just a second, hold still just long enough for one of you to get to my tattoo. I keep thinking I should have been able to do something. In all evidence, if you didn't know, if you were just the police, I would look like the murderer. I held the knife, Sammi, T.Q., Katsuko; I had her blood on me, on my hands. It may not have been my choice, but part of my brain still sent my hands to kill her, Sammi, part of me, however small, still did it and I know it. I can't refute it. Caryn was our friend, our best friend, and I'm the one who had the hands that killed her."

"Hush up, before someone hears you and does think that," T.Q. rebuked her gently, but firmly and determined.

I didn't know what to say that could divert her thinking. She completely believed this and I saw part of her reason in thinking it. All I could say is, whispered, "That still doesn't make it your fault, Letty. To have responsibility for an action, yes, there has to be the action, but there also has to be the full thought, will, and contemplation, and determination to carry it out. You _didn't _have that. You _did not_ have full control of your will. We all know what he did, and you know maybe better than me, as well as T.Q., and Katsuko, how much of a puppet you were to him. Puppets carry out action, but they don't have control over it. You _did not_ have the consent of your actions. You _never_ would have done that on your own power and you know it, _you know it; don't even_ _try_ to convince yourself you ever would have. You know the truth. Don't deny it to berate yourself for something you could not control. Letty, look at yourself. You're in the hospital by your own hand. We tried to stop it, but we could only divert it. Tell me you did that on your own power." With each word after my second sentence, my words got more fervent, willing her to see the truth.

She gazed at me for the entire time, T.Q., too. Katsuko watched Letty. Letty opened her mouth to speak, but then shut it, "I can't," she whispered, "I didn't and I owe Katsuko my life. Thank you, all of you, for still believing in me, for saving me."

"What else would we have done?" Katsuko answered gently.

"Absolutely," T.Q. and I said together. Letty gave a small smile, a little more hopeful.

"And don't you forget it," I said, gently, but firmly.

She nodded, "Help me not to. It won't be easy for me, but Sammi, you're right. I know it. We know it."

"Of course, of course we do, and we always will," I answered her.

Letty gave a small little sob and I went in to gently, carefully hug her, low, the opposite of Zak, because of her chest wound, and the others joined. Letty gave a small laugh and kissed me on the cheek, Katsuko and T.Q. too before they could pull away. We just shook our heads and laughed, partly in relief. Things really would be okay. We would heal, and then we would get Dante, make him pay for all of this, the trouble and turmoil he had caused and much more. T.Q. fell asleep in the chair by the bed, Katsuko had her head on the hospital bed and her feet on the chair, falling asleep in an almost hammock position across the two. I had no idea how she didn't fall- and I laid out on the floor between them, making a sort of triangular rectangle. A symbol of strength. I was surprised a nurse didn't come in and yell at us for it, but I think I heard Rachael come in to check on us about the same time the nurse did and maybe was about to say something, when I think I heard Rachael ask if she could let it go just this once for tonight. I could imagine her soft smile as she said it, but I was too close to sleep to respond to it.

The next morning T.Q was the first to waking up, stretching and yawning; I woke up almost immediately after her. A few minutes later Katsuko woke up, rubbing her eyes and then, hearing us up, Letty woke up too.

"Hey guys," she said.

We smiled back and then a nurse came in, asking us if we could step out for a minute. We nodded and called to Letty that we would be back later. She nodded back. On our way out of Letty's room, though, T.Q. and Katsuko didn't head out the door but toward Zak's room. I nodded to myself and wondered if I should go too. We were all in this together and so I figured I might as well. Zak was already up, Rachael was still sleeping.

"Hey Sammi," Zak called, "T.Q, Katsuko, how are you guys doing?" He asked a little more concerned, probably for several reasons.

"Alright," they answered together.

"How are you, though, Zak?" T.Q asked.

"Fine," then Zak laughed, acknowledging where he was and why, "well, going to be." He smiled.

T.Q. and Katsuko nodded.

"Hey, cheer up over there, really, I'll be fine," Zak answered seeing their tight faces, then gently, "How's Letty?"

"She's doing well," Katsuko answered, "but, Zak, this is our fault," looking at herself and T.Q. "We're so sorry, I can't even begin."

Zak sighed, "You two as well, huh? Sammi," looking at me, "did you tell them about last night?"

I nodded, "I did, but they still wanted to come see you."

Zak nodded, "Fair enough, but then," looking at Katsuko and Letty, "you already know our answers. We forgive you. It wasn't your fault. You guys had no control over yourselves at all."

They nodded and then we all turned to the chair because Rachael was waking up."

"Hey everyone," she acknowledged.

"Hey Rachael," we answered, though Zak called her Rach and she went up to kiss him.

Rachael turned to T.Q. and Katsuko, "Well, you already heard Zak and Sammi; of course my answer is the same for you as well. Though, like Sammi, if you really want to, you can help me clean up the shop together."

They nodded emphatically, "Absolutely, thank you."

"You're welcome," she replied.

After a few moments we left the hospital, waving to Letty as we passed her room to go back home. I was the last one out of Zak's room and had whispered, "Thanks for last night." She just smiled.


	4. Rachael's Shop

_I was the last one out of Zak's room and had whispered, "Thanks for last night." She just smiled._

* * *

We walked together until it was time to head off into the different directions to our homes, and we paused. I didn't really feel like going home to my mother and no father yet. Katsuko's parents didn't really like a ton of people in their house, but T.Q.'s parents didn't mind, didn't really even mind at what time and she seemed to pick up on my feelings. Maybe Katsuko felt the same too.

"Do you guys want to come over to my house for a bit" T.Q. asked after a pause.

We nodded and made small talk on the way to her house. At T.Q.'s house she pulled out crackers and Cheese spray for us, one of our favorite junk snacks and we just hung out in the living room, sometimes talking, sometimes watching the T.V. Then I had an idea.

"Hey, it's starting to get late tonight, it's four o'clock, but how about tomorrow we head over to Rachael's tattoo shop and start cleaning up for her?" after a moment consideration they agreed.

"But, wait, what about a key? Surely it's bound to be locked?" T.Q. asked.

"Well, maybe not, with the police and all, but one," I felt in my pocket and pulled out a silver item, holding it up, "Rachael gave me a key, and two, though, actually, the police have probably taped over it, there's the window that would be easy enough to get into," I say quietly. They nod tightly but agree. At six o'clock Katsuko and I say our goodbyes and head off to our homes.

At home, my mom is waiting with a pasta and bread dinner which I eat quickly, enjoying it, but still not really wanting to talk to her. I see the hurt in her face, but I don't care. Again I head up to my room, not even looking at the clock. I just get into pajamas and close my eyes to sleep.

The next morning I head downstairs and look at the clock on the oven stove, in green numbers. It reads 9:30. I head back upstairs to my room, my mom is still sleeping. No problem, I'll leave her a note, and call T.Q who picks up after two rings.

"Hey Sammi," she answers, she has caller ID, "Morning."

"Morning T.Q., I was wondering if you wanted to go ahead and head over to Rachael's shop and get started a bit? Have you talked to Katsuko?"  
"Yeah, actually, she just called me, wondering about that. Now sounds as good as ever." She paused for a brief second, "Do you want to meet up…"

"Sure," I agree, "Let's meet at the sub stop just a little before the train station."

"Sounds good," T.Q. agrees, "I'll call Katsuko and let her know. See you in twenty minutes?"

"Yeah, see you then," I answer and we hang up. I close my eyes for a second but then get dressed in simple, easy to work in clothes, blue jeans and a brown T-shirt and sneakers. Downstairs, eating a piece of bread I write my mom a note just telling her I'll be back by dinner, that I was spending the day with T.Q. and Katsuko. Then, I head out. It's chilly so I walk back inside and grab a coat. Twenty minutes later, I see T.Q. and Katsuko at the sub stop. Katsuko is eating a wrap; guess she decided she'd have breakfast here and on the way. We're all cold and bundled up so we wave and start walking over to the shop together, after Katsuko finishes her wrap, hand in hand. One block away, I pause briefly but Katsuko and T.Q. freeze, their grips on my hands- I'm in the middle, T.Q. on my right and Katsuko to my left- tighten considerably. I look up at them and their faces are worried and tight. I guess I can understand why. After a moment, I gently pull on their hands, saying softly, "Come on." They follow, their pace varying from almost a run to dragging their feet. As we come in front of Rachael's tattoo shop we see that the window is taped up. My face is tight now too, but I think T.Q. and Katsuko's face have turned to grim stone and are hardly breathing. When I raise my hand to reach into my pocket to get the key, their grips tighten painfully. I understand, but really.

"Guys," I say, "Guys, Katsuko , Letty, I need to get the key."  
T.Q. seems to come out of it a bit and relaxes her grip but doesn't let go, her face is still tight, but not like a second ago. Katsuko just drops my hand like it was either that or keep holding it. Her face hasn't changed. As I got to put the key in the lock, Katsuko stops me with a gentle hand. I look up. T.Q. hasn't let go of my hand so she's still with me.

"Should we maybe do this with Letty?" Katsuko whispers, her voice almost breaking.

I'm shaking too and T.Q. looks uncertain. As I put my hand holding the key down to consider what Katsuko is saying, this is more than just a cleaning trip, more than even facing what the tattoo did, this is also facing where Caryn was killed. I shut my eyes, thinking. They seem to be looking to me for an answer. I wonder about it, Katsuko and T.Q. didn't actually kill anyone here and they are severely shaken as it is. Letty did and she isn't happy about it now, obviously, and I wonder if it's really I good idea for Letty to come back here once she gets out of the hospital. But then, I know she should, like the three of us, she needs to.

"Yes, I whisper," and then whip around, with Katsuko, bringing T.Q. with me. I just had a feeling someone was watching us, where my hairs on the back of my neck had stood up. I was right, but then I breathe a sigh of relief, dropping my head in relief as well. It's only Rachael.

"Sorry," she says, seeing our reaction, "I should have said something. I thought you three might show up here today, though; thought I should be here too."

We understand why. And not just because I can tell we weren't ready to face this spot yet. Rachael was part of this too, so was Zak. Maybe she knew we weren't really ready yet because I don't think she'd have come without Zak, maybe she would have. I seem to be the only one able to speak of Katsuko and T.Q. T.Q is shaking and Katsuko is simply quiet and white.

"No, it's fine. You're right, obviously. We did, but I don't think we're ready, and Letty should be here with us." I say quietly.

She nods, "Let's go then, this isn't the place for us to be right now."

We nod and follow her off. As we get farther away, we all relax visibly but are still shaken. There were too many bad memories stored in that place that we'd been avoiding.

At the sub shop Rachael looks at us, pointedly, "Are you girls okay?"

"Yeah," we answer in a breath. She nods and heads off; probably back to the hospital to Zak. The three of us haven't let go of each other's hands the entire way back from Rachael's shop, but our faces and grips have relaxed. Now we look up, don't say anything, but just give a nod and head home.

When I get home, it's only 10 in the morning. Had we really only been gone a half hour? I shake my head. Today I'll just stay home. I can't see Letty today. I may be slightly less than Katsuko and T.Q. but I'm shaken too from our visit today and it would show. I don't need Letty to see that, she would only misinterpret it against herself, which isn't true or helpful.


	5. Zak

_I don't need Letty to see that, she would only misinterpret it against herself, which isn't true or helpful_.

* * *

Around two the phone rings. It's Rachael and she has good news.

"Sammi! Good news, for once," she's almost laughing in tears, she's so relieved. I let her continue, she needs no prompt, "Zak is doing well and if his condition stays the same, hopefully even improves through the night, first thing in the morning he can come home!"

Oh, thank goodness. Truly good news and we could all use some. We've been far too short of it as of late. "Rachael, that's excellent! Should I come over?" I ask. I hadn't been planning on going to the hospital but this is different now.

"If you want to; I'm going to call T.Q. and Katsuko and let them know too."

"Okay, and I'll be there soon."

About four minutes later my cell rings. It's conference from T.Q. and Katsuko who called at the same time. I can guess what about.

"Sammi! Zak is fine and he's coming home tomorrow if things stay good!" They yell, so pleased for good news at last.

I'm laughing, in relief and at their relief and pleasure, especially after this morning. "I know; it's great. Are you guys going to see him? I am."

"Yes," they respond together. We laugh; relieved and so happy Zak will really be fine.

We show up at the hospital together. The nurses see us and our faces, bright for once, and nod, knowing where we're going. We almost run to Zak's room. I notice that Letty is sleeping. That's good, let her rest. Maybe we can even see her later, now with this good news.

"Zak!" We laugh yell as we come into his room. He laughs too, and he really does look better. He's sitting up and there's color in his face.

"Hey, you three," he greets, "I told you, I'm going to be fine."

He seems to be holding back something else though. I bet I could guess at what, I'm sure Rachael told him about us at the shop today, but he doesn't need to say it and he wouldn't want to now. No point in darkening the first good news in a while.

After a little while, we do decide to go see Letty and tell her the great news.

We walk into her room with smiles to see she is up.

"Letty! Zak is going home tomorrow morning as long as his conditions stays or improves!" We say as soon as we're through her door. Her face brightens impeccably. Maybe part of treatment should be a daily or double dose of good news because right now, she has some color back to her face as well and doesn't look as frail. A nurse comes in then, smiling, but we aren't required to leave so we stay.

"You know, Letty, I'm really glad for your friend, but the doctor has some news for you as well," the nurse says as she checks some vitals. We get quiet and somewhat concerned for a second before the nurse sees our faces and decides not to give us all a heart attack, "He says you're doing very well too. We can't let you go home quite as soon as your friend just yet, but in two or three days if you're still improving and doing as well as now, you should be able to go home too."  
Letty and all of us are smiling, Katsuko leans her head back in relief. Everything is only going to get better from now on. We're going to make a point of that. Then we see another group at the door. Three dark girls are standing in the doorway. Las Reinas. We're all smiling tentatively.

"We just thought we should stop by and see how you were doing. Glad to see it's good," Marisol says.

Letty responds, "Yeah, thanks."

They nod and then leave. They knew us, but mostly me and don't really hang out with the others so it's appropriate. We call our parents, deciding to stay the night at the hospital.

In the morning Rachael has a smile on her face and her hand in Zak's, making sure he's steady. They smile and wave to us. Zak is going home. That truly is excellent. Maybe in two weeks or a little later we can start looking for Dante. After spending the morning with Letty we head home.


	6. Adam

_After spending the morning with Letty we head home._

* * *

At home on my bed, my phone rings. The Caller ID says Adam. I pause for a second before answering. I'm still annoyed that Adam didn't believe me when I told him I was in the hospital and didn't send him those texts. I had really liked him, but things are different now. Everything is. Maybe I would still like to try again with him, but I don't know. I'm in a good mood, though, and it won't hurt anything to at least talk to him. After all, sooner or later, we will have to. I pick up the phone.

"Adam," I say, like stating the obvious.

"Hey, Sammi." After a brief pause, carefully, "How are you?"

"Okay. I'm healing and so is Letty. Zak is out the hospital this morning and Letty can hopefully come home in two days. But, we all have wounds that need time and action to heal."

I wonder if he understands the double meaning of my words.

"That's great, about your friends."

"Yeah, it's the first good news we've had in a while."

It seems if he does, right now he's ignoring it. That's alright, it's appropriate. Neither of us mentions Caryn. It's not necessary and with Adam it would be awkward.

"Sammi, I'm sorry, about before. I should have believed you."

I'm not ready for this, but it seems marked that he took the time to call and not just text and maybe he does know there's something more to what I'm saying. I don't want to tell him no right now, maybe probably not ever, but to what extent, not now, but he should have believed me.

"Yes, Adam, you should of. Maybe things would be different if you had." I say. Maybe he could have helped. No, I wouldn't have dragged him into this. Zak and Rachael were enough, but still.

"Sammi, I really screwed up and I would like the chance, if you would give it to me, to make it up to you." Adam answered.

I can't do this right now.

"Adam, look. You did screw up, no lie, and I don't know what to do about it. I think right now, I'm not saying no, but I have a lot of things that need to be patched up. I need to work things out with my mom and Letty needs me and my friends and I owe Rachael and Zak help and my friends and I still have things left unattended that need to be taken care of once and for all. Adam, I liked you, maybe I still do, but I thought I could trust you, and you showed me that maybe I couldn't. I can't do this right now. You ask me for a second chance. Can I ask for time to make that choice? Sorry, but try to understand." I say, brokenly, trying to be fair, but realistic.

"Alright, that's fair. I understand and I will give you time. I owe you that." He says sadly, but truthfully. He really will wait. That's a good sign. I just hope we'll get the chance, because that's up to me and I have no idea what I'm doing. Facing Dante is all I know that needs to be done, every part of it.

"Okay. Thank you. Bye." I say, detached almost. I hear him whisper sadly bye as I hang up.

I hear my mom come in the door from work. Maybe I will talk to her soon, but not today. Adam was enough.

I hear the doorbell ring. When I go down to answer it, it's T.Q.

"Hey, come in," I greet.

"Hey, what's going on?" She asks.

"Adam just called." I say. She's surprised and upset, worried almost. I shake my head, waving it off. We both understand and her face relaxes.

"Thanks," she says quietly, "What happened?"  
"I told him to wait. He said he would."

"That's open then," she says. T.Q. knows that I want to wait because I can only handle so many problems at once.

"Come on," I say and we head up to my room.


	7. Letty

"_Come on," I say and we head up to my room. _

* * *

The next morning after T.Q. and I have breakfast- she stayed the night- we decide to go over to see Letty. Katsuko has something with her parents she needs to attend so we'll see her later in the day.

As we walk into the hospital we are greeted with smiling faces that carry over into Letty's room and then to us. A nurse is just finished checking Letty over who was walking across, though a little carefully, the room and is now sitting on the edge of her bed. The nurse's next words, to all of us, are wonderful.

"Well, Letty your vitals and nervous control looks good and the doctor has seen you this morning and agreed. You look fine and have recovered beautifully. We're going to call your parents but you can get dressed to go home. You'll come back in three days for a checkup and then two weeks after that. We'll send you home with some medication to be taken as needed, but you should be just fine. I'll go call your parents."  
All three of us break into huge smiles and T.Q. and I run over to hug her. Letty's actually laughing and hugs us back.

"We have to call Katsuko and Rachael and Zak and tell them," I say, so happy. We nod.

I dial Katsuko's number. "Katsuko, hey it's Sammi, "I say solemnly, trying not to laugh. I'm in a good enough mood to joke about this and scare her. "T.Q. and I are at the hospital with Letty, and, well, we have some bad news." T.Q. is biting her lips, smiling.

"Letty?! Zak?! What is it?!" she asks concerned. She bought it. Letty's laughing, so are all of us and the nurse as she comes back in. I hand the phone to Letty who has to pull herself together, just. We're mean and Katsuko's going to scream at us but we'll all be laughing about it.

"T.Q., it's Letty," she says, trying to make her voice kind of hoarse, "The bad news is you're just going to have to keep around to deal with me," her voice getting lighter, "because the good news is I'm going home today!"

Letty puts it on speaker. The nurse doesn't look happy about that but lets it go. We hear her nervous angry relieved laughter.

"You're on speaker, Katsuko," I say. That's her cue.

"SAMMI! Don't do that to me. T.Q., were you in on this?"  
"No," she laughs, "She came up with it on her own."

"Thanks," I say sarcastically.

We shrug it off, "Letty, that's great. I have to get back to my parents but we'll come over tonight okay?"

"Alright," she says. We hang up and give us other another hug, then the nurse steps in.

"Okay, okay. Letty, you still have to be careful. Don't overexert yourself this week. Take it easy and make sure to get enough rest." She turns to us, "You'll have to see Letty later now. She needs to get changed and her parents will be here soon to take her home to rest." We nod and leave. T.Q. decides to call Rachael and tell her, since I gave Katsuko a heart attack, figuratively.

"Rachael, it's T.Q. We just finished visiting Letty and she's on her way home!"  
"That's excellent. Good, I'm really glad you all are doing well."

"Yeah, alright, talk to you later?"

Obviously she agreed because next T.Q. hung up.

"See you tonight at Letty's at 6?" she asks.

"Sure," I agree.

I get home and my mom's there. She notices my elated mood.

"Hey, honey. What's going on?"

"Letty's on her way home from the hospital," I say, not even sourly like I've been treating my mom lately.

"That's great news. Are you going over there tonight?"

"Yeah, I don't know if we'll spend the night or not. It'll be up to her parents probably."

"Have fun, and be careful," my mother responds. I nod.

At 5:30 I head out to Letty's. I can't wait to see how she is. I'm the first one to arrive and she's great. She's smiling and drinking and eating and moving around. She's clearly glad to be out of the hospital. The doorbell rings and it's T.Q. who is happy, of course, to see Letty well also. A few minutes later Katsuko shows up in a green dress. She must have just come from her parents. We all smile and chat for a bit in the living room, flipping through channels. Letty invites us upstairs.

Her room is actually neat for a change. Her parents must have cleaned up while she was in the hospital. Letty goes to sit on the bed and T.Q. in the chair and I on my stomach with a bag of chips on the floor. Just then, though, it seems to hit us all at once. Us, here, spread out like this in Letty's room isn't a new thing. In fact, we've done it many times before. There's just one big difference. Normally Caryn is with us, and now she isn't, and the last time she was, was the last time all of us were in this room together, normal, the very night we went for that tattoo, the night she showed us her designs in this room, us just like we are now. I get a grim expression on my face and T.Q. looks down, like she's about to cry. Katsuko is trembling, a few silent tears rolling down her face. Letty, Letty realizes it and freezes for a moment, her mouth dropped open and her eyes bewildered. Then she covers her mouth with a shaking hand and turns herself to her bed, face in her pillows. Katsuko goes over to Letty; tears momentarily stopped comfort her, touching her shoulder silently. T.Q. doesn't move. I can't for a second, then I go over to Letty still shaking and sobbing hard, joining Katsuko, wrapping my arm around Letty, and Katsuko, as Katsuko starts crying softly again, they accept it, pulling closer to me for comfort. T.Q. comes over and holds onto us too, stroking Letty's hair and arms. No one says anything. We don't need to. We all know and we all know the words we would say anyway so we just sit there like that. Letty crying, me grim faced, Katsuko calming down, T.Q. trying not to cry, me as well, but pretty safe, the three us just holding on to our friend and her in turn to us. Of course, it is worse for Letty, because of her part in Caryn's death, though nearly irrelevant.

I don't know how long we sat like that, all of us just holding the other, but eventually we came out of it. The clock said 7:55, so a while, at least twenty minutes. Letty is still trembling. T.Q. is still stroking her hair. I take over stroking and holding her arm. Katsuko is holding Letty's hand.

"Should we go downstairs?" I ask her quietly.

Yet, Letty shakes her head, "No," she whispers hoarsely, "we need to be here. It's good we face it. After all, it's time to heal."

And as she says that, T.Q., Katsuko, and I let go of her hair, hand, and arm. We don't need to anymore. The entire time in the hospital and before, even when we were in the living room, even after my speech, though maybe it helped, Letty has still held herself responsible for Caryn's death. Now, maybe she does, but it is clear in her voice and the new set of her face, that that is no longer a weak point. It's a point of fuel to simply make her stronger. Like with the tattoo, it had the power to break us, but we chose to turn that power around to unite us. We can see Letty understand this now and make the same choice. And I know when we face Dante, we will not hold back. I don't know what we'll do yet, but even his twisted dark magic will not be able to protect him from us. He united us through that magic that backfired on him and maybe some of it is still in our veins, making our emotions stronger, but all the better, now. He has fed us what we need to defeat him. This time, through our revenge and our heartbreak, our loyalty to us and to Caryn, it will be Dante on the floor, helpless and afraid, and Dante who will lose. Letty is right. It is time to heal and then it will be time to fight for all we lost for our mistake.

We look up, at each other, and we see this reflected in all our eyes.

"Letty," T.Q. starts, looking at me too, "There's another place, too. Rachael has offered for us to help her with her shop cleanup, if we want."

Letty is still, her eyes burning, though her lip quivering.

"Yes. We should," she answers in a hard voice, "But not tomorrow. This is enough for now, okay."

"Okay," I agree and realize the word has double meaning again. Okay, I'm agreeing, but also, okay, it will be hard, but we will be alright. And I understand, it's like Adam and my mom and Dante. We, especially Letty, need to take it slowly, one problem at a time, with some time in between, time to heal and let the solution sink in and take its effect. We do stay in Letty's room and after a time it really is alright. Our faces kind of get peaceful, like we've finally accepted that Caryn isn't with us anymore, but yet, she always will be in our hearts, and thus we will never forget her. Letty's parents come up to check on her and see us, and our faces, and agree we can the stay the night.

The morning is good. The sun wakes us up, shining through the curtains, promising. We head downstairs for a cereal breakfast and spend the day with Letty, taking it easy, and hanging out. We are strong here; here there are no more ghosts to haunt us. We have conquered them here, and we know it. At noon, Katsuko's parents come to pick her up and so T.Q. and I head home as well. We're going to leave it up to Letty to decide when we will go in to help Rachael with her shop.


	8. Rachael's Shop Again

_We're going to leave it up to Letty to decide when we will go in to help Rachael with her shop. _

* * *

The day is relaxed. Letty called to say that Zak and Rachael had stopped by to see how she was doing, fine, and that Zak looked good too. I didn't really feel like staying inside, though, so I grabbed a book and chair to read outside and enjoy the sunlight.

The following day Letty went in for her checkup at the doctor's in the afternoon and calls, letting us know it went well. During her call, she also says she thinks we should go ahead and head over to Rachael's shop tomorrow at one to help cleanup if we want to. We agree.

That night I lay in my bed looking at the ceiling again, again remembering that night and seeing the blood in the red numbers of my clock. It is necessary, though, as we are going to face the spot tomorrow, where Caryn was killed. I wonder what it will be like, nothing at all, or everything it could be, and how hard it will be for all of us. It's good that Letty has at least truly started to forgive herself and that we have really started to accept that Caryn is no longer alive. It was good and helpful that the four of us were at Letty's a few days ago. It really was significant, and I believe necessary. I think it will make tomorrow just a little easier having faced one of our ghosts. Eventually, I fall asleep, no dreams except for a few colors of red and/or black and/or blue now and then. In a way, they are more haunting than pictures, the red of blood, the black of ink, and the blue of Dante's eyes, but while I remember the chill brought by the colors, I also feel it strengthening me, helping me.

I spend the next morning just mulling around the house until noon. Then, I make a turkey sandwich. As I finish my sandwich, I head out to the sub shop where we met before. This had been agreed upon the night before and I had told my mom this morning I was going to be out this afternoon. Again, I was dressed in simple work clothes, jeans, sneakers, and a green t-shirt but grabbed my coat from my room if it got chilly.

I'm the last to arrive at the sub stop and the four of us link hands to proceed to Rachael's shop, on the outside, T.Q., then me, then Letty, and Katsuko on the other end. This time, a block away from her shop, my face is actually calm; T.Q.'s grip tightens, but only just, though her face more so. Katsuko's grip tightens as well, but not painfully, her face is darker, but still calm, it is only in her eyes you can see concern and anxiousness. Letty stops for a second and looks at me, but then take a deep breath, tightens her grip on my hand and we walk forward determinedly.

At the door, we see Rachael and Zak inside, talking. Rachael sees us and gives us a nod of her head with a gentle smile, acknowledging that we're there, but giving us time if we need it. At the door, T.Q. shuts her eyes, but then opens them and nods to herself, ready. I take a deep breath, then another, and also nod to myself, it's time. Katsuko looks calm and ready to go as well. Letty, though, is white and trembling slightly, but she has a look on her face that she does not want to give in. So, I turn to her and put my hand on her shoulder, but do not say anything. It doesn't really seem necessary to speak, we all know. Then, still shaking a little, but with some more color in her face, Letty gives a shaky nod and takes a deep breath. It's time then, we are ready to face this together. We all tighten our grips and T.Q. opens the door.

Inside, it is harder. Letty is shaking harder; my face has gotten tight, as has T.Q.'s. Katsuko looks a little lost and scared, but otherwise is still. Rachael comes over to us, while Zak stays at the counter. I see her and it helps. Last time, she helped me and knowing that helps me now. I relax. No one else does.

Letty lets go of my hand and silently, almost dream-like, walks a little ways in front of the counter, a few feet from the far wall and falls to her knees. T.Q. and I go over to her slowly, though T.Q.'s face has not really relaxed. Katsuko holds back a moment, but then follows. Actually, it is Katsuko who reaches Letty first, as T.Q. and I hold back a foot away from Letty, not quite sure what to do now. Katsuko gently goes to Letty and places her hand on Letty's shoulder. Letty is still shaking, but not as hard as before and slowly, gratefully grabs Katsuko's hand and looks up at her, then at T.Q., and finally me. We stay like that for a moment, all realizing the significance of exactly where we are. There is only one reason Letty would have specifically walked to this spot- because she remembered it and needed to. This was the exact spot her hands had killed Caryn. In another moment, Letty whispers something, placing her hand on a dark spot on the floor. It sounds like _I'm sorry_. Then, she shuts her eyes for a moment and stands up. She has stopped shaking, but her face is still drawn, yet her eyes are clear. They do not any longer hold any horror or worry, or sadness or guilt, her eyes are at peace. It seems to break the spell for T.Q., whose face does begin to relax. Katsuko doesn't really change, though her eyes shift back and forth from holding hardness in them to being at peace. Me, I look at them, a little nervous. This time, Letty's comes to me with a gentle gaze, gives me a hug, and whispers "_Thank you. It's alright_.", then T.Q. and Katsuko come together to hug me as well. Then I relax. I knew in the logical part of my head my friends were in control of themselves, but my head had also held onto the fear of seeing them crazed the last time we were here. Their hugs, and seeing Letty calm with herself, relinquish that illogical thought now. When we look up again, we have small, though perhaps sad, yet determined smiles, and walk over to Rachael and Zak. Zak simply smiles and nods at us once, letting us know it's alright here with him. So does Rachael.

Handing Letty and Katsuko hand brooms, Rachael starts them on cleaning up the glass shards near the window and other places in the shop. T.Q. and I she teams up to help organizing, T.Q. the display case that was shattered and then dusting and cleaning the top. Rachael has me straighten a few paintings and then help T.Q. Rachael and Zak have stain removers and get to work on the areas in the shop that need to be cleaned up, the places especially, like where we were with Letty, that hold blood stains. Around four, a delivery truck shows up with a new window replacement for the front. The delivery guys help remove the remnants of the old window and then Rachael and I help them place the new one in. At five o'clock the shop looks good, basically almost back to normal, and all of us have relaxed. Actually, all of us are smiling, even Letty. Working to help clean up this place really did help us and in the beginning we faced the worst spot here. It was a fairly quite cleanup with a few brief conversations but a lot of the time we concentrated on our task. Rachael thanks and congratulates us on our work today and offers us a ride home, which we accept gratefully. However, before she takes us home, she looks at Zak, smiling, and then turns to us.

"Really you guys did a great job today. Thanks again. I have some more news, too, though. One of the reasons we were able to clean up so much today and replace the glass is because the police have finished their investigation." Her tone, though serious, is relieved. Our faces, however, are concerned. What did they decide?

"They found his prints on some of the surfaces here and will be able to have them processed within three days," our faces spark relief and engage, we understand who _he_ is, "for the damage, they agreed and determined that a gunman, possibly with a knife as well, had shot through the window and caused injury and one death. In regards to Sammi's tattoo, they understood it that I was held at gunpoint to give it, though for what reason they do not know. Though we know truth," her face darkening, but then brightening again as she continued, "the main thing is, we are free of any charges." All of us are smiling again and T.Q. and I proceed to hug her and say how happy we are for her that she wasn't compromised because of us.

Her only response was, "Even if I had been, at least you four are safe, but definitely."

And we nod, acknowledging her view. She did risk her business and credibility for us, but for reasons or another, the police have reached their own conclusions freeing her of any responsibility, though she was ready to accept it if necessary. We really can never thank her enough, but we also can tell she is ready for us to now let it go.


	9. Mom

_We really can never thank her enough, but we also can tell she is ready for us to now let it go._

* * *

Rachael drives each of us home and she thanks us again as we respond with the same sentiment. We've really come a long way since Dante, we've started to face our problems, today once and for all we acknowledged and accepted Caryn's death and Letty no longer holds herself so, if any, responsible, Rachael and Zak forgive us and Zak wants to help, and going through it all has made us all stronger than ever. For us, now all that is left is Dante. In three days the police will have his prints and be able to get an idea of where he might be right now. So in about a week we will finally be after Dante and we will not lose. Before Dante, though, I need to talk to my mother, just in case. And, I think I am ready to at least talk, maybe not much more, but at least begin to accept it. It doesn't mean I like it, but what's done is done, like Caryn, we can only go off one way or another from it.

With that thought in mind, I walk in the door and smile at my mom who is sitting on the couch, alone, of course. She's surprised, but accepting with questions and apologies in her eyes. I don't want an apology and she's going to speak first or I'm going to my room and we'll talk later. I wait for a second and then turn and start walking up to my room. A few steps up my mom calls me; it's a question, like she's not sure what I want, which is probably the case.

"Sammi?"

I pause and look back, not smiling, but open.

She's quiet, maybe she doesn't know what to say. Maybe there isn't anything to say.

"Did you have a good time?"

I try not to give a wry laugh, I just told her I would be out, she probably assumed I was with friends, but there is no way she would know what we really accomplished.

So I just say, "We did a lot, but it was good." I walk back down the stairs.

"That's good sweetie, I'm glad you guys are sticking together through this. It's not always so easy, is it?"

Is that her opening? But, she's absolutely right.

"No, it's not" I say and I go sit by her on the sofa.

"Do you want to talk?"

I allow myself an exasperated breath. Do I want to talk? Ha. Do I? What is there to say? About dad? Everything about the tattoo? But what?

"Yeah, I guess. I don't understand why…" I allow.

She nods. "I guess you can figure out the basics of it, but we just couldn't agree on things anymore and it was straining both of us. We let ourselves get too far apart."

I can hear both of what she's trying to say: the obvious, about dad, but also about us, she doesn't want her and me to drift apart and lose our connection too. I guess I don't either.

"Why?" I ask.

"Sometimes things just don't go the way you think they will and they get out hand and there's nothing you can do to stop it," she says sadly, gently.

I don't agree with that, after what my friends and I have gone through, no way. She's just giving up.

"I don't believe that. I believe you let it get that way, maybe that you wanted it. You make it sound like you didn't have a choice. You always have a choice," that's not really true either I realize, Letty didn't really have a choice, but that's different, but still, so I amend slightly, "even if it's hard to see, but I do know how things can get out of hand. I know that well."

My mom looks a bit ashamed, but continues, "Maybe you're right, but if so then it's what we at least partly wanted. If we gave in like that, was it really right to be together in the first place? I guess we never had the strongest tie because I keep thinking it's okay, it was bound to happen. I know that's not fair to you, and I know you hate me for it, but we all make mistakes."

She was asking again, asking for my forgiveness. So she's right, I have hated her for it and she is trying now, just too late to try with dad, and so I try not to be too angry when I respond, even though I am.

"You're right, it's not okay with me, but we do all make mistakes. I certainly have. I guess it's not really fair of me to judge you for yours, except they impact me too."

"I know, but you know you can still see him, even if I don't."

"I know, but I don't want to have to choose like that, or at least bounce back and forth, but I guess I'm going to have to. Things don't always work out. I know that too."

I think she knows where I was going and she gives me hug. I accept and whisper "I'm sorry, for how I've acted."

She looks up, "I love you, you know, even if you don't."

"No, I know you do. I love you too, even if I don't always like it." I laugh, to show I mean no malice by it.

She smiles, and cautiously, "Sammi, what about that tattoo?" She's giving me room to not respond.

The tattoo: that blasted tattoo. No, no, I can't do that right now. I shake my head, "maybe later." Much later, not for a bit, maybe before Dante is handled, maybe after, but I think she should know, eventually. So I just smile and go off to bed. Things will be better now between us. I want it to be and so does she. We won't hate each other and with time, things will heal.


	10. Police

_We won't hate each other and with time, things will heal._

* * *

The next few days I spend in different ways, sometimes with my mom, sometimes with T.Q., Letty and Katsuko, sometimes with Rachael and Zak, sometimes with Rachael and Zak and my mom, sometimes my friends and I with either Zak and/or Rachael, sometimes with all of us for lunch or something. On Friday, T.Q., Katsuko, Letty and I were having lunch at Rachael's house-Zak was out-when her phone rang. She picked it up, as we looked up at her.

"Hello?" She answers. In response to the speaker, her eyebrows lift up and her face gets serious and she stands and walks over to the counter a ways. After a few nods and short responses we hear, "Right, yeah, thank you, we'll be over in half an hour. Thank you." She hangs up and walks back over to us and looks at us very seriously.

"I'm going to call Zak, you guys finish up. That was the police. They have the prints in and they think they may know where he could be. They've had some reports of suspicious activity in a certain area. They said they would give more details and photos at the station."

Our faces are instantly serious and deadly and unforgiving with anticipation. This is the news we have been waiting for. Rachael knows and sees it too.

"Now listen, you four are going to keep calm, no matter what you hear, no matter what you see. I can't stop you from going after him, especially with Zak along, but you are going to be rational about it. Understand? You keep calm and in control of yourselves, no outbursts. Understand? Okay?"

We nod and answer simultaneously, tight, controlled, "Okay."

"Alright then; I'm calling Zak, let him know, then we'll meet him there."

She picks up the phone again and calls Zak.

"Zak, the police have the prints and reports of where he might be. Meet you there, the girls with me, in half an hour. Okay."

She hangs up and nods. "Let's go."

We toss the remains of our lunch in the trash and head out into Rachael's car.

Half an hour later we're at the police station with Zak talking to the Chief who introduces himself and leads us over to some pictures. All of us, except Zak, including Rachael, take a sharp breath in. Zak is fairly calm, accepting. The Chief notices.

"This is the man that ran into your shop, Rachael?"

"Yes," she answers tightly

"And this is the same man who you say you saw kill your friend?" He asks us.

"Yes," I answer, nearly through my teeth.

He nods understandingly.

"Right, well his name is," that's right, we supposedly don't know his name, and I don't need to hear it, I doubt any of us do, so I try to hide the brace I mentally give myself, "Aleazo Dante Mealy".

We all look up, surprised slightly, but then understandingly. Of course, he was illegally tattooing minors, plus some; he wouldn't dare use a name that he could easily be tracked with. Dante was his middle name, not first, and not last either, though we hadn't thought of it that way.

The Chief notices, but misinterprets it with a nod, "People seem to like to know the name of their perpetrator." I try not to let out a snort, successfully.

"Anyway, we have had reports of a man fitting his description in height and eye color looking around at vacant houses, stealing food, looking around the neighborhood, especially at underage girls, some boys. With the boys, mostly it seems to be those who don't fit in, are outcasts. The girls, he doesn't seem to preference much, the popular, the outcasts, just about everyone, in groups, single. A few he's tried talking to. A lot run and report him, obviously, but a few have reported that a few he's talked to look interested and talk back. It seems like he's looking to start up a business illegally, but we're not quite sure of what. Though it's possible, especially considering where he broke into, that he's looking to set up an underground tattoo place for minors. It would fit too; he has a bit of a record, with gang involvement, shoplifting, robbery. His behavior now with the children are worrisome with his known gang involvemnet, and the thefts have all either been book stores proclaiming magic, or tattoo art, or tribal traditions. The reports have come from downtown in a town called Rockville in Maryland. Schools in Montgomery County have been the ones with the most reports, but also Thomas S. Wootton High School. We can contact you if you want to be present at court when we catch him."

Our faces are careful now. We all know that a tattoo shop is exactly what he's after, and we also know why he's looking at some certain groups, staying away from the few who might be smart or strong enough to refuse, or more likely, find him out. He's not going to stop. He still has the ink. We knew this, and we all know that we plan to get him before the police. Zak looks at us pointedly. We nod back, a question and promise that we will stay collected but we will find him.

"With all due respect, sir, if you wouldn't mind, I, and with supervision, some of my friends here would like to participate in finding him." Zak answers.

The chief is surprised, "I didn't expect that. Normally, we don't encourage it, especially with minors, but I suppose, if you check in regularly and you're always with the kids and promise not to confront him on your own, that could be allowed."

"That's very reasonable and of course, we will check in regularly and we won't confront him alone."

"Very well, be sure you do. We don't want any unnecessary trouble."

"Thank you, sir."

"Be careful then, this is our radio frequency, and have a good day."

"You too, sir."

Rachael looks at Zak and shuts her eyes for a moment, then looks at us, and back to Zak, and walks out. We follow.


	11. Preparations

_Rachael looks at Zak and shuts her eyes for a moment, then looks at us, and back to Zak, and walks out. We follow._

* * *

Outside, "Zak, if anything happens to any of you…and you keep to your promise, do not _dare_ try to get him own your own," to us, "Especially you four. You stay with Zak, you plan together. Nothing rash. Understand? Promise."

We promise. Zak lays a hand on Rachael's shoulder. "Rach, it'll be okay. We'll be careful, we won't do anything stupid, and we'll stay in touch with the police. I won't let anything happen. I promise."

She seems like she wants more but nods. "I'm holding you to that."

He nods and we go back to her house.

At Rachael's house, she makes herself busy. She, understandably, is scared of this and doesn't really approve, but she also understands why we are doing it. Zak sits us down at the table.

"All right. Now listen, we are going to stick together. Anything we do, we let the others know. No exceptions. Agree?"

We nod.

"Letty, Sammi, T.Q., Katsuko," he says our names separately, pointedly, "Are you guys sure you're ready."

Again, we nod.

"All right then, here's how we're going to start: go home tonight, pack your bags, and let your parents know you're going on a trip to Rockville, Maryland with me. I thought you guys would like to get out a bit and have fun for once. Call me when you get approval and I'll pick you guys up at noon tomorrow at your houses. Once we're in Maryland, we're just going to look around, together, see if we can see what the residents have been seeing. Then from what we learn we go from there and form the next plan and we contact the police, letting them know all of it. Okay?"

"Okay," I agree. Letty, T.Q., and Katsuko agree as well. It's a start and we will be careful. We will face this together, strong, and now that we've faced it, Caryn's death will be a point of extra strength, instead of weakness. We know that without saying it. Zak drives us home and we nod silently goodbye.

After my mom agrees to the trip, I decide she should know the full truth. I would have told her before I asked about the trip, but I didn't want it to change her mind. We have also been on better terms this week, which is nice.

"Mom," I say

"Yeah, honey. Is there something else? You'll have fun on the trip. That's really nice of Zak."

"Yeah, it is nice of him, and yes there is something else. It's about the trip, but also, about the tattoo. I think you should know now."

She sits up, interested. I hadn't said I would tell her this and she never asked me to but I knew she was curious.

"I'm listening."

"Ok, so it all started that night before I was in the hospital that I was over at Letty's, remember?" She did. "We were in her room that night and Caryn had drawn some designs for we had been talking about getting a tattoo to remind us of our friendship. Caryn was going to design it, because we wanted it to be unique, like us. I know. I wasn't really into it and I didn't think they were really serious, but then we were picking a design and walking over to this place she knew. They were serious. I backed out. I'll explain, just let me tell it, no interruptions, please." She nodded. "So they got it and were really ticked when I didn't go through with it, because, and this is crucial, in the end, they didn't go with Caryn's design, they went with one the guy, Dante, the tattooist, suggested, but that was still unique. We just didn't know how unique." I paused for second, this wasn't going to be easy, but it was probably good I was reliving it now, preparation, "Turns out it was more than just a tattoo…" and I proceeded to tell her the whole horrific story, every part, including Adam, Las Reinas, Rachael and Zak, what really happened in Rachael's shop, how Letty was forced to kill Caryn, how she and Zak ended up in the hospital, what we really did a week ago with Rachael and Zak at her shop and we where we today and why, that this trip was hardly for fun.

Her mouth had fallen open into shock when she learned of the true nature of the tattoo, then her face had turned to tears when she heard of what had happened in Rachael's shop and everything after. Now, the tears had stopped, and her face was just shocked, but also scared.

"I'm not going to tell you not to go, I know you have to, but you be careful, hear. You aren't invincible, I'm sure you know that far too well, but, I mean, you also know too well, that this isn't just an ordinary criminal. Just swear to me you will be rational and careful."

"I swear, but he will lose."

"God, I feel so terrible and selfish about your father now, after what you've gone through, putting that on you as well. I'm so sorry."

"I don't want apologies," I say. She nods.

"Have you told Caryn's parents? They should know the truth too."

"Rachael did," I say. She nods and so do I. Then I go up to pack, calling Zak, telling him I'm good to go, and then to bed, my mom still shocked in the living room.


	12. Scouting

_Then I go up to pack, calling Zak, telling him I'm good to go, and then to bed, my mom still shocked in the living room._

* * *

The next day at noon, Zak pulls up. My mom hugged me before I left, telling me to be careful and listen to Zak. I said I would and that I loved her, and she responded likewise. In the car, T.Q. was already there in the passenger seat and she and Zak greeted me, Zak maybe a little more tightly, worriedly. We picked up Letty next, then Katsuko, and then we were on our way. It wasn't a loud ride, but it wasn't quiet either, we went back and forth from talking, to being quiet, to listening to the radio or our own music or whatever. We made a few stops for gas and dinner. By 11 at night we were in Rockville, Maryland checking into our hotel, joint roomed, one single, one double.

The next morning we had breakfast in the hotel and Zak called the police, letting them know we were scouting in Rockville and started off in the car to visit the schools. We saw the elementary school and couldn't help but smiling, remembering such simple, carefree times; the kids all playing in the sun were so sweet, so healthy and safe. Yet, we knew this wasn't where we needed to be, neither Dante nor us had any business with toddlers and children. The high school wasn't too far off, though and it was definitely the high school. It's a busy morning, there are cars everywhere, it's almost time for school to start and the kids are just milling around outside. The difference between elementary and high school is almost comical. We see the groups, the cliques, the students smiling with friends and glancing down at the teachers. There are some with books, some in band or cheerleader uniforms, some on their own, some hanging out in black against the wall, some trying to sneak out… The bell rings and just about all the kids scowl and head off to their classes, pretty typical and there are too many cars for any to stand out. We'll come back at lunch, when the kids can have a half hour leave from campus for lunch. We spend the rest of the morning driving around the town, looking at the other schools, spots around town, anything that might stand out. We slow down as we approach a section of the neighborhood. It's still nice, but poorer than the other sections of town we've seen; the houses are smaller; the colors are milder, darker. It's nice enough, but there's something that gives it an eerie feeling. Normally, you'd look it over and go on your way. Even now, that's what we might have done, had we not seen a man looking at this brown, seemingly abandoned, small house. A man alone wouldn't have been cause for concern, except that I suddenly got this weird feeling; T.Q., Katsuko, and Letty froze. The man, on second look, had brown hair, he looked haggard, almost homeless, but still a little too well dressed. Zak kept driving, but pulled around a corner and pulled over. He turned around to look at us sharply.

"We are not getting out of the car. If it's him, we know where to come back and who to look for. If it's not, we probably won't see him again. Either way, it's 11, we're going to get something to eat and then we'll see what we can at the schools."

We're not happy about it, but understand. Zak starts the car again and soon enough we're at a Subway. After lunch, we're going back by the school in the car. Class just let out and some of the kids are making a beeline for off-campus. There's a group of two boys, dressed loosely, look like they just get along, but don't really fit into any group heading out. Then we see him. He's waiting at the corner. Letty lets out a hiss. T.Q. stiffens and Katsuko and I tighten but put a hand on Letty. It's him, the same guy we saw at the house, and we saw his eyes, those unmistakable ethereal cold blue eyes. Sure enough, he goes up to the two boys. They look at him, listen for a second, and then get uncomfortable and head off quickly. Dante looks annoyed, looking after them, but then sees a group of blond girls, four of them laughing on their way off-campus, but they don't even see him. It's definitely him, and he's definitely looking. We've seen enough. Letty's eyes are positively locked in hate on him. Our faces aren't kind either, but in the rest of us an excitement for what has been long awaited. Letty has it too, but it is unforgiving and much darker than even ours. Zak is quiet as we drive back to our hotel.

"Letty," Zak says sternly. She looks at him, innocently, but hard.

"Yeah."

Zak seems like he's going to say more, but decides against and sighs, "You know. I'm going to call the sheriff. Let him know what we saw."

"Letty, we have to be careful, we know that. We're going to win this, but only if we plan," T.Q. says gently.

"Oh, we'll win all right. If it's the last thing I do, I swear we will."

"Letty," I saw, firmly, "Snap out of it, harness it. Of course we all hate him but remember what we've done, the bad, but the good too, because of him. He can't break us like that, that's our most powerful weapon. Remember that."

She relaxes a bit, ashamed almost, "You're right, sorry. I was out of line. I promise, I remember, I won't let that happen again."

We smile and nod, and just sit quietly, holding hands. We hear Zak in the background.

"Yeah, we saw him. He was definitely trying to talk to kids about something that would involve them, and we saw him looking at an abandoned house downtown. Yeah."


	13. Polly

"_Yeah, we saw him. He was definitely trying to talk to kids about something that would involve them, and we saw him looking at an abandoned house downtown. Yeah."_

* * *

Zak must be walking into a different room, because we can't really hear him anymore, just a few muted words now and then, "Right, how about…yeah…"

Zak comes back, gravely.

"Letty?" He asks

"I'm good. Sorry. It won't happen again."

"Good, because it's time to get started now. Sammi?"

"Yeah?" I asked, nervous, but excited by his solemnity. He looks worried, unhappy.

"What do you think about a haircut, short to your shoulders and wavy?"

"Sounds different."

"Good. Would you be willing to do it? We can do it here. Rachael's shown me how to cut hair and straight is simple, and I'm sure your friends will be happy to do the rest. Because, he's seen you, of course, but he's seen you the least, and I'm too old for the part. If you will, we think it would be good to see exactly what he's proposing. We give you a makeover and you," he paused, "play the part of a girl who's interested?" It was a question. I was free to decline and he almost hoped I would. No chance in hell. Absolutely.

"Absolutely," I say, excited, but determined, but calm.

The other girls are excited too, about a makeover, and more importantly, beginning to get Dante back. If anything, they may seem jealous it's me who's going. Zak sits me in a chair and starts cutting my hair while the TV plays. In ten minutes, he's done. He steps back and smiles. So do my girls, who have gone back and forth from watching the TV to watching Zak. They start laughing now and run to their bags to get curlers and hair spray and brushes and run back. I smile, it's good to see us all light and smiling and laughing, just as if this were just a slumber party. Zak is the only one who looks worried.

They're brushing my hair putting it in curlers and I'm instructed to go to bed with them.

In the morning, Zak has pancakes ready and after breakfast I am dressed in silver flats, skinny dark jeans and a loose pink top. Letty, T.Q., and Katsuko then whisk me into the bathroom. Zak lets us go. Katsuko adds a little makeup to my face, mascara, and a light blush. Then T.Q. and Letty take out the curlers. They smile so big and I stare shocked into the mirror as I turn around to look at my reflection. My face looks flushed, happy, carefree, and my eyes very light and girlish, but more so my hair, short and in huge soft long wavy curls to my shoulders. My face and hair combined with the light pink shirt and dark jeans makes me look utterly pretty, but the light makeup and pretty, but mild outfit, like just a girl, not necessarily one who's popular, but it's possible. Yet, it isn't the kind of outfit you would associate with a bookie or someone "smart".

"I wish I could tell you to show him that it's not the looks that matter and punch him in the face," Letty replies.

"You just make it worth it. You look awesome," T.Q. says and Katsuko gives her agreement.

We walk out of the bathroom and can't help but laughing as Zak's jaw drops open before he shuts it and regains his composure.

"Sammi," he says, very surprised, and then almost to himself, "I'll never understand how girls do it, what compels them," then definitely too us, "Good job girls, Sammi, I barely recognize you, and I know you. You look great," then serious again, "Ready?"

We're serious again too, "Yeah I'm ready."

"Alright, let's go. Remember, you do not know him, you don't quite care for the other groups, but you fit in now and then with the popular girls. Just find them and give them a wave, as you walk in. When you pause to look at him, you're only curious. You can't even let on that you've heard of him, certainly not that you know and hate him. Understand?"

"I've got this," I say.

He nods and we get into the car again. Letty, T.Q., and Katsuko try to start a conversation, but I quiet them. If I'm to show no emotions of hate or recognition I seriously need to go over everything we've accomplished, and look at my reflection once more before I get out of the car. When we arrive at school I am very calm, and so very ready to do this. The others do look jealous, but also now a little worried. We all know what he can do, but I just ask for the mirror and one look at the face in the mirror and I'm good to go, because this face isn't me. It's the perfect cover mask.

"We're right here just in case. Remember to look like you know people, especially the popular crowd, but not that you're really tight."

I nod and then I step out of the van, feeling and remembering my face, and definitely the curls as I feel them bounce as I step out and also as I see the silver flats that I would never wear. I have a smile on my face, almost a true one for the upside of what I'm about to do. I begin walking and looking at the crowd as if trying to find my friends. As I'm searching, I see him. The fury I initially feel I immediately turn into curiosity and confusion. He sees me and looks interested. Inside, but I do not let it show, though, I am very scared. Now it is absolutely crucial I keep the façade, if he recognizes me, it's over. I keep that look of confused curiosity as I walk over to him, clutching the books in my arms, enough that it could pass off as nervousness, but not enough to be suspicious. It's the best I'm going to get to pass off my real feelings.

"Hey, excuse me, miss. I know you need to get to school, but can I ask your opinion real quick," he asks.

This is it, I look him straight in the face, interested, bright, "Sure, what about?"

He doesn't recognize me. "Well, you see here, I'm looking to start up this place. You seem like a sweet girl, but who may want a bigger role in life than what you have? Well, you seem like the artistic type and I'm looking up to set up an art studio with inks. Maybe you'd be interested to stop by in a bit and see what I'm thinking about putting up. See if you think it's worthwhile? Good stuff, you know? Maybe I could get you a job, maybe your friends too?"

An art studio, alright, I think to myself. I look surprised, "An art studio? Like with oil paints and carvings? I love looking at artwork! And I do need a job. That would be amazing, thank you. Is there a way I could get in touch with you?" I want to bite off my tongue and punch him, but I keep smiling. The last sentence is actually true, golden if he answers it.

"I'll be around here a bit. I'm still looking to get it settled, but, hey, keep coming around okay. You seem like a nice girl and I'd love to give you a job, maybe even a free sample of my artwork in a bit. How does that sound?"

"Really good. Thank you!" Oh, if only you knew.  
"No, thank you… Really, you've been a great help. Not a lot of people would be interested and some are even intimidated you know? Thanks for your interest." He's looking for a name.

"Oh yeah, it's Polly, some people just don't appreciate talent when they see it. But, I'm going to be late. I'll see you around."

He nods and as I turn I see him smile that smile you can never trust. I believe he sees me as a very potential "customer". This can work out. I just hope he doesn't recognize me in the future too. I can still feel him watching so I head into the school and even dare to walk over to a group of girls as the bell rings. I say hey, to which they respond well enough and walk in with them. Then I walk out the back. Zak is waiting and I get in.

"Well?"  
I let out a sigh of relief, "Good. He didn't recognize me and he offered me a job at his "Art studio, with inks," that he's setting up. He asked if I would be interested and maybe give my opinion, that he might even give me a free sample."

"Good, very good Sammi. Good job. We can work with this. How about, if you can and will, we keep this same thing up over the next few days and then see if he calls you over again. When he does, see if he invites you to his shop and then accept, then we can set it up to trap him there?"

Again it's a question, allowing me to back out. I am not looking forward to playing that good little schoolgirl again for a period of time but if it means catching Dante I'll do it.

"Alright," I agree.

When we get back to the hotel, though, first thing I do is kick off the shoes and brush my hair straight and into a ponytail, wash the makeup off my face and then get into sweats.

"There's our Sammi," Letty says. I smile, but we are serious. We can't slip up now.

The next day is much the same. The girls and I in the bathroom making me up the same as before, the curlers out from when I put them back in again last night, and a different outfit: this time, a light green knee skirt, flowing freely, and a yellow t-shirt with the same silver flats. I see him and he nods to me but doesn't call me over. I go up to the same girls I did the other day, hoping they will be like yesterday. They're talking so they smile but kind of ignore me but still look up. I go off of that and just sit, looking uncomfortable, but still a part of the group, which indeed I am. Then the bell rings and I pretend to move my mouth like I'm starting a conversation with them but not really. The day after, I'm "late" and run into the school with my books and the following day I'm "sick" as we give me a break.

On Friday, instead of going up to the girls again, I'm early and find shade under a tree and sit down in the grass and read. By Wednesday of next week, I'm getting annoyed at the façade when he calls me over as I walk into school, again.

"Hey!"

I look up, interested. I may be getting tired of my cover, but it's getting easier the longer I do it. I let recognition color my face, but never forget who he is.

"Hey, good to see you again."

"Yeah, Polly right?"

"Yeah, how's your shop going?" I ask, curious.

"Pretty well, I've just about got the basics set up, so how about you come over tomorrow after school if you're still interested?" he answers

"That sounds great. Could I bring some friends or is it just me?"

"How many friends do you have?"

"Well, several, but I was thinking maybe just my best friend, or, if you want, my second best too?" I respond  
"Three's a good number, strong, how about you bring your two friends. The more opinions the better, right?"

"Absolutely. Thanks!"  
"Here's the address. See you tomorrow, Polly."

I smile and shake my head up and down excitedly. The second I turn around the smile turns smug and anticipating. The address isn't the same as the house we saw him looking at but it's in the same area. When I get to heading back to the van, the smile is still in place. I don't even wait for Zak to ask and talk directly to my girls.

"He has the basics set and wants to see me tomorrow to show me the place. He said I could bring two friends along. I would have asked for three, but I didn't want any similarities."


	14. Planning

"_He has the basics set and wants to see me tomorrow to show me the place. He said I could bring two friends along. I would have asked for three, but I didn't want any similarities."_

* * *

They nod understandingly and Zak is dead serious, "No options now Sammi. I'm calling the police tonight and telling them. Katsuko goes with you, and…" he stops the van and looks straight at Letty, "can you go and keep yourself in check until it's time? I'd have T.Q. stay because I think it's right to let you have a chance in the play but I don't think you and T.Q. and Sammi would be good together for this, the three of you are too wound up. I'm not saying Katsuko isn't, but I think she can pull off hiding her emotions better than T.Q. I think, Letty, you can use your emotions for the perfect cover, if you can control them. T.Q. and I and then the police will be waiting. T.Q. will enter first and then me. The police will be the finalization and we'll end it. Sammi, Katsuko, and Letty, you go along with whatever he says. You're thrilled about this. If he offers the tattoo, Sammi, let it play out. I won't tell you which one I want of you three to accept first. However that goes, it goes out that way, but I need one of you on the table for the police. Katsuko and Letty of course will have a makeover too. Can we do this?"

"Yes," I agree.

"Alright," Katsuko agrees.

"You bet I can do this. No way I am not part of this," Letty agrees, "I'll make it work, I swear."

"You guys make it count, then. I'll be waiting in the wings with Zak it sounds." T.Q. agrees.

"We've got him," I agree.

"Alright, fine," Zak answers solemnly and drives not back to the hotel, but to a little shop downtown. We figure he'll explain so we don't ask questions. We're right.

"I figure we don't need to cut all of you guys' hair off, so we could do with wigs, unless, you want to cut off your hair."

"My parents would go nuts if I cut my hair. A wig is perfect with me," Katsuko agrees.

"I'm not hiding. No, Zak, Katsuko can have a wig and of course Sammi will go as she has, but I'm keeping my hair. Oh, I'll change it, and my face too, but I'm going to be me. Trust me, please, Zak."

Zak doesn't look happy but agrees. We go in and T.Q. gets a wavy medium length blond wig.

At the hotel, Zak calls the police, staying in the living room where we can hear.

"Good evening, Chief. Yes, we have some very good news. We know where he is and we have an invitation to meet him there in the morning. How about you give us some time to establish a scene, not all of us will be going in. Yes, I'll be there," he puts up a hand to us as we stare at him, unhappy, "Ok. Yes. Oh. Wow, okay. Um, thank you. Are you sure? Yes. Alright, excellent. Thank you. We'll see you tomorrow."

"Ok, before you say anything, we're sticking to what I said; I'll be waiting out with T.Q. I only told him I wouldn't because I figured he'd be much more likely to give us some leash if I was with you. I was right. I am going to have a radio and the police are going to be waiting in the near vicinity. When I give them the call or sign, they'll come in. We do this mostly on own our still with the police though. Good?"

"Good." We agree.

That night all of us, Zak included, turn off the TV and sit together. We go over plans and most importantly what we've been through, to make us stronger. We talk about Caryn and we are stronger, it does not break us, not even Letty. We talk about that night in Rachael's shop and the curses Dante spun and the blood we all spilt. We talk of our time in the hospital, including mine, and how we helped rebuild the shop. We remember and we talk, all the way to the events that have led us here tonight. We remember and we let it make us stronger.

In the morning Zak has muffins ready and we head to the bathroom after we get dressed. I am fairly casual with regular jeans and a purple t-shirt and my "trademark" silver flats. Katsuko is dressed in a pink floral dress with white sandals and Letty, Letty still hasn't exactly let on what her face is going to be but she is dressed in suede boots with a platform heel, dark wash jeans and a red tank.

In the bathroom we do my face first, since we are so familiar with it now, the mascara and light blush. Then we get Katsuko's wig on. It turns her nearly unrecognizable and we add just a light blush to her face. Letty does her own makeup: red lipstick, gray eye shadow, mascara and eyeliner, heavy red blush. Her hair she simply curls with an iron. She looks…like a girl who wants attention for a relationship, someone some guy wouldn't think twice about wanting, a girl who just wants it, what that guy wants her for. T.Q. is herself, red hair straight, regular jeans and sneakers and a black t-shirt.

Zak almost doesn't seem to recognize Katsuko when we come out, like he's still looking for her, and then does a double take when he realizes her and Letty he just shakes his head with a sad, impressed smile. By now, he's used to my look.

"I'd be shocked if he recognizes you three. Ready? You know, the hard part isn't probably going to be the cover, but as soon as T.Q. breaks it. That's what I'm worried about. That is when I'll tell the police to be ready too, because I don't want this, of course, out of hand, we get him out of public and punished, but we do not do it alone, that is our goal. Understand?"

Zak's right, it's the minute Dante realizes the truth that will be the most dangerous and what we have most anticipated.

"We understand," we say strong and together.


	15. Dante

"_We understand," we say strong and together. _

* * *

We are ready.

Zak lets me drive as he sits in the back with T.Q. and Letty. Katsuko is in the passenger seat. I ask Katsuko for the address, not that I don't know it by heart already, the minute I saw it, but she gives it to me, understanding, without question. Letty is very quiet in the backseat. I wonder what is going through her head right now. Similar to me that first day as Polly? We just have to trust each other now, and we can do that. Here's the address. I pull up and park on the street and I, Polly Sammi, blond girl Katsuko, and Letty the lesbian but boy grabber, too, get out. It is time.

We look around as we walk up and I knock on the door, red. The yard is dead and the house is gray. Macabre art, I think sarcastically. Dante opens the door and those ethereal deadly blue eyes pierce my heart as much as the first time I saw them, but I don't let it show. I simply look curious and excited. He lets us in.

"Hello, Polly. I'm so glad you could come and see my studio, but who are your friends?"

"Of course, this is Kelly and Lendora," I say nodding first to Katsuko, then Letty.

"Pleasure to meet you." His eyes lingered interestingly, creepily on Letty, but she just gave a shy charming smile.

"So, actually my art isn't exactly oil paints, but ink."

I am not going to play games.

"Like tattoos?"

He's pleased, "You seem interested with the idea."

Argh. Guess I'll have to play a few games.

"Well, it's a form of art. I've thought about a tattoo before, but I'm much more interested in how they're done. I mean, I know the general basics of course, but I mean the fine details. It's always interested me." Can I just cut off my tongue and kick him in the face?

"Really? Well, normally employees have at least one tattoo to showcase what we do, you know, but if you're interested in seeing how I work first, your friend, Kelly, did you say, seems interested. Maybe she would like a free sample and then you. Then even your friend Lorenda, too. Like, then it wouldn't even be a tattoo but a friendship bond."

I look to see what he means. Katsuko is looking at the table he has set up and some of the designs he has up. Letty looks like she was starting to make a fist but changes it into shock.

"It's natural to be nervous, but I assure you I've done this many times."

Letty's eyes look like she's ready to kill and she's shaking, but Dante still just passes it off as nervousness.

"How about it then, Kelly? What do you girls think?"  
We think you're a cheap murderous sick goat who needs to be locked up and burned in hell because we know exactly what you plan to do and no way are we going to let you. Remember Caryn. Remember us? No? You will, soon enough, not yet.

"I think it sounds like a really cool idea. Huh, Polly? I'd go first so you could see it done, like he suggested," offers Kelly Katsuko.

"Lorenda?" I ask Letty.

"Umm, sure?"

I smile, "Sure then."

"Alright, let's get started. I know you were looking at some of the designs but for you three how about something original, unique, so that it will always bind you together, strong in your friendship." Just like before.

"That would be awesome," Kelly Katsuko says.

"Yeah, that would be cool, and see how you work," I say.

"Oh, an original design would be excellent; I just didn't want something normal. Yeah, this will be great. Thank you so much," Letty Lorenda asks.

"Of course, anything for you and your friends." We don't miss how he eyes her, not suspiciously, but lustfully, wishful.

"Here, how does this look?" It the same design he showed us, just with three points instead of five. It looks like death and illegality.

"Perfect." Says Kelly Katsuko.

"Good. I figure it's like a storm, powerful, just like friendship. Ready?"

"Yes, that's a cool thought too. Just here on the table?"

"Thank you. Depends where you want it."

"My hand good?"

"Yep, so just sit on up and we'll get started."

I nod once to her and she nods back, waiting, ready. I press a button on my hip. There's a knock on the door. It is time.

"Excuse me for just one second." Dante says as he goes to answer the door. He opens the door and freezes, absolutely shocked. T.Q. is staring him straight in the face, her red hair blazing, and her tattoo clearly visible.

"Hi, Dante. Remember me?"  
He looks back at us for a second. We play quizzical.  
"Ah, yes, of course."

"You still giving underage girls tattoos I see. Hey girls, if I were you, I wouldn't. Trust me. This guy is up to no filthy good. He'll just take everything you know in life and ruin it beyond stinking repair."

T.Q! We allow our faces a startled look for what she says but still in control. I don't know about Letty and Katsuko, but I'm jealous of her right now. She doesn't have to hold back, we do, for just a bit longer. Well, we do, she does, but, not nearly as we have to right now. Dante looks like he would kill her if it weren't for his "customers" so it's his turn to continue the play.

"I don't know what she's talking about. Really, it's fine. She's just mad because her parents grounded her when they found out she got a tattoo without telling them." He laughs nervously. Games over. I look at Letty. If she's controlled, we'll let her have the honors. She nods.

"Really, Dante? She seems a little more pissed than that," says Letty.

"You seem to know her?"  
"Oh, yes. I know her very well. We all do." he's confused. Letty looks at me. She nods. Alright then.

"You don't remember us? Dante? We remember you," I say.

"I've never met you before a week ago…" then he looks harder and starts to look shocked. I turn to Katsuko.

"Yeah, we remember, don't we Letty," Katsuko looks at her.

"You hell as right we do bitch." He just has a pleased smile on his face as her recognizes Letty, but we're not finished.

"Sammi," Katsuko says. He whips around, now open mouthed

"And don't forget Katsuko," I say looking at her as she pulls off her wig. For a fraction of a second, he looks scared but then recovers himself.

"Girls, impressive," he says with a dark tone and laugh, "impressive, but don't you remember it's not just the tattoo I control?" His smile is dangerous and promising.

"Of course they do," He whips around to see Zak and the police in the doorway.

Letty is closest to him and kicks his legs from under him and Katsuko gets off the table to come over and punches him in the face before he can mutter any words and I grab his arms before he can give any signals. Letty punches him again, "That one's for Caryn." My turn. I punch him, "And that's for my friends."

"Girls! Enough!" Zak and the cops say together. Letty stays staring at Zak and Katsuko and I look up. T.Q. looks at Letty and nods. The cops come over and cuff his hands quickly.

"You're under arrest for illegal tattooing of minors, theft, first degree murder, and ..."

"Before Dante can say anything Katsuko has had duct tape with her and slams a piece over his mouth.

"Girls, let's go," Zak says.

I nod.

"One more thing," Letty says and Zak eyes her and T.Q. comes up and together with Letty brings him to his knees in that certain place.

"You can't defeat us Dante," I say. "You've only made us wiser and stronger."

Zak tells the police we'll meet them at the station tomorrow afternoon. And with that I take Katsuko's hand and she takes Letty's. Letty takes my hand and T.Q. takes Letty's and Zak takes Katsuko's and together we walk out. This is done.

In the van, Zak shuts the doors and turns to us in the driver's seat and shuts his eyes, then opens them "I'm not going to yell. I understand and I'm sure the police do as well, but you do understand under any other circumstances your last actions could have gotten the four of you jailed for assault?"

"Zak," I say, "You know us, of course we do, but you know we would never do that without a very good solid reason."


	16. Second Chances

"_Zak," I say, "You know us, of course we do, but you know we would never do that without a very good solid reason."_

"Yeah, alright. Good job."

"Thank you, Zak." And we understand that both our words have double meaning. We pack up at the hotel and it's two in the afternoon so we pack up and head home. The car ride back is relieved and excited. We talk nearly constantly and play music. We remember and we celebrate what we have accomplished, everything: Dante did not break us apart, we fixed and faced everything he broke, I made peace with my mother, Zak and Letty healed, and Dante will never see public again.

After we have been home we learn the police sent him to court only for our testimony and a sentence, which was a life sentence in prison with solitary confinement after the first 2 years. Katsuko, Letty, T.Q., and I remained friends as tight as ever now and there was just one last thing to do as we were having a sleepover at Letty's. I picked up my cell phone and dialed a number. It was answered after the first ring.

"Adam?" I confirm.

"Hey, Sammi. How are you?"

"Really good. Things have settled down, and Adam," I smile and look around at my friends, "Everyone deserves a second chance."

"Yeah, that sounds great. I'll meet you at the beach tomorrow at one. See you then." I respond.

I smile, and we all laugh together as I hang up. The next day at the beach was like we never texted before, but had just met up after that first day. We wouldn't mention it, because in agreeing to meet here, it was forgiven and things would work out. After all, you always have that choice: you either let the poisonous hardships of reality in life tear you down and destroy you or you fight it and come out, maybe weak at first, but then for it all, stronger than ever on top.


End file.
